The cover’s incendiary coup de grace is the white judge – whose presumably recent death is signified by the crude black crosses scrawled over his eyes – splayed across the front of the lawn, gavel dangling limply from his right hand. His digital profanity is pixellated and, amusingly, he is positioned directly above the Parental Advisory label – the warning sign concocted by Tipper Gore in 1985 at the height of the Reagan-era culture wars. In the right front, a small boy victoriously flips the bird. One man is speaking on his cellphone (perhaps to tell a friend: “We’ve won! Come join the party!”), while many of the others – wearing facial expressions ranging from unbridled joy to pure defiance – brandish booze and fat wads of cash: a Scarface-style symbol of material success historically familiar in rap circles. Shot in striking monochrome with the quality of a vintage Polaroid, it features a large group of mostly shirtless black men and children – plus one baby, cradled by Lamar himself and, possibly, one woman – arranged in a victory tableau on the lawn in front of the White House. To call its vivd imagery confrontational would be an understatement. On Wednesday morning, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar posted the cover art for his forthcoming LP, To Pimp a Butterfly, on Instagram, prompting much excitement.

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